Um...where did June go?

Today I was talking to my mom while making dinner. At that moment I was chopping the first green pepper (I couldn't leave it on long enough to turn red) from my red pepper plant on the driveway. I started going on and on about how my tomato plant was loaded with green cherry tomatoes just waiting to ripen and I had tons of pepper growing quickly. She mentioned how corn was supposed to be at the Farmers' Market this weekend...and that's when I realized that in only a few hours it will be July! July! The entire month of June is gone and I barely noticed. I accomplished LOADS in June but I was so busy that entire weeks were zipping by before I could realize that it's been 20 days since I last posted! 20 days! How does that happen?

Well, I'll tell you how...here's what I did in the month of June. (I apologize now for what is sure to become a record length post or possibly series of posts.)

1.)  I started roasting my own coffee. (I'll post more specifics in another post.) I was tired of having to buy pounds of coffee that was often old and from Columbia or Lawrence and therefore not easily obtainable. They cost $12 to $14 a pound and I have had several friends who roast coffee. So I took up another DIY hobby.

2.)  I started trying to run-commute twice a week. I pack an extra lunch and the next day's change of clothes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Then I run to work from home (1.5 miles each way) to the office and FINALLY found a way to sneak 2 workouts of 3 miles each into my weekly schedule. It does take a lot of planning but with work, summer school, and trying to lift weights with Jason over my MWF lunches there aren't a lot of hours left in the day. So now I run 15 minutes to work instead of drive for 7-10 minutes to work (depending on lights and traffic).

3.) I was elected President of Kirksville Young Professionals. I was Secretary last year and I am thrilled that my fellow board members had the confidence to vote for me as President. I am really looking forward to adding to all of the work we've accomplished in the past year. Go KVYP!

4.) We ate our very first cherry tomatoes on June 12th. I thought I would treat them special so I made a mini caprese salad. I drizzled them with olive oil from Spain and some basil from the backyard. Delish!

5.) I started summer school on June 6th and resumed commuting twice a week to Columbia for classes. The course is Advanced Regression Analysis and will conclude my statistics coursework.

6.) I rolled over 200,000 miles in Laurel (my Subaru Impreza). She did it with four brand new struts while commuting to Columbia (of course!). As a Subaru, I expect her to live at least another 50,000 to 100,000 miles. It makes me sad to think of a time when I might not get to drive her. :-( Also, my best friend Cara might find this the most amazing since it was only a few years ago that I rolled over 100,000 miles. A DeSoto, Kansas, police officer stopped to ask us what we were doing because we had hopped out of the car in a pitch black neighborhood, held up Amos Lee's new CD, and took a picture of us in front of the car. He thought we were insane and let us quickly leave DeSoto but I will never forget the memory.

7.) Jason brewed one last beer with my parents when they came to visit for Father's Day. (I was in the kitchen working on #8.) Joseph hadn't seen our new house and my brother Nathan had never been to Kirksville. It was a great weekend!



The beer baby bubbling away
in the hall closet.















8.) I cooked a lot of tasty food.

This is what you make when you buy a ton of strawberries at the Farmers' Market.

This is what you make when you buy tri-color potatoes and need to use the eggs and kale from the Farmer's Market. So tasty!



If you happen to have loads of asparagus from the Farmers' Market (or wherever you buy veggies) then here are two recipes.

From Hy-vee's Seasons magazine article on asparagus, April issue, pg. 28 (or page 30 of this .pdf.)

"2. Shave the spears into ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Toss with fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Shave Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese on top."

I left off the cheese from above and coupled it with Sauteed Corn, Pepper, and Sausage (I used turkey sausage that was on sale) also from a Hy-vee recipe. We had it for a really late brunch but you could eat them together or separate any time.

Oh look! More foil packet potatoes and grilled pork tenderloins! But do you have this Grilled Asparagus and Manchego Cheese recipe from Real Simple?

Ribeyes from my parent's side of beef, Kirksville snow peas
seasoned with sesame oil and red pepper flakes, and tri-color
foil packet potatoes all grilled.

Finally, Gnocchi with Turkey Ragu (the dinner I was preparing tonight when I realized June was over.)